Wednesday, August 31, 2011

If you could somehow promise him right now that he’ll get a second term no matter what happens with jobs, he’d tear the speech up and watch the Packers/Saints game himself. Pathetic.

Hilarious!

This political stunt by Obama over who gets the Wednesday night airwaves is just so pathetic one is almost (but not quite) embarrassed for Obama. Does he not have handlers that can avoid such a blunder as this? Did he think everyone would drop dead and bow when he decided that being a demagogue and trumping a presidential debate would be a good idea?

Yes, the debate is one of many in an election over a year away.

But it's Rick Perry's debut on the debate stage!

And the next night is the NFL season opener!

And who really cares what Obama is going to say anyway? I've not seen his speech but I can bet it's loaded with self-important blather and much repeated bromides that we've heard over and over and over. It won't change anything (at least in a positive way). My own over/under on how many times he says "I"? 45.

Truthfully, if this guy wants to help the nation, he could just take a seat. Go to the house. Back to Chicago. Leave us alone. Thanks, but no thanks. See ya.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Real life has trumped blog life again...well, at least since school started three weeks ago. My site stats are in the tank, negative numbers, almost, but between school and taking care of my mom, by the time I get to my computer I'm brain dead. I pretty much quit checking my sitemeter ages ago when I realized that I'm not making any money blogging and that I'll probably die of old age before I join the "million hits" club. It used to bug me but it doesn't anymore.

Anyway, there have been some stories that I've been following. This Gibson guitar thing is just bizarre. Powerline has a great encapsulation of the whole thing if you're behind the curve like I've been. And the Michelle Obama twist makes even more crazy. Gotta love it. Doesn't the DoJ have anything else to do besides harass one of the few companies that still produces an American product? Major fail.

If my “family” was $14 trillion in debt I’d put myself up for adoption. Oh, and the “federal family” member who would have normally caught the spelling error in “preperations” was out tending to family, so we can forgive that oversight.

This has helped soften the image of the federal government to such a degree that the IRS is now considering referring to themselves as America’s “little audit buddies.”

"Sometimes it's necessary to sacrifice your freedom for a greater freedom," Hannah said in Lafayette Park before her arrest. "And we want to be free from the horrible death and destruction that fossil fuels cause, and have a clean energy future."

The video at the link is just bizarre; Hannah is arrested and frisked to a round of thunderous applause and chants of "Darryl, Darryl, Darryl!" She beams and basks in the moment like a red carpet event. Irrelevant celebrities I can do without.

All I have to say about this one is that streaks were made to be broken.

And finally, the tale of Obama's Uncle Omar gets weirder and weirder. The Boston Herald reports today that Uncle Omar had a valid Social Security number even though he's an illegal alien ordered to be deported. How'd that happen? Mark Krikorian explains how it could have happened.

Oh and one last thing: I watched the George Bush interview about 9/11 on Nat Geo last night. Powerful stuff. Powerful. Catch it if you get a chance; it was well done.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Fox News has been showing 24/7 wall to wall coverage of Hurricane Irene. Is this a little excessive? Yes, hurricanes are serious business; but, it seems to me that all this over-coverage just freaks people out. Is that the point? Freak people out so they pay attention and "get the hell off the beach"? Maybe.

The media doesn't really need imminent threat of landfall to go berserk over a hurricane, either. Around here, at least, once a tropical depression spins off the coast of Africa they are all over it, scaring the crap out of anyone who might potentially be in the path of any of a dozen possible tracks. It's the Katrina Syndrome. These frenzied reports, especially as the storm/depression/hurricane gets closer to (any) landmass, often include shots of the flooded streets of New Orleans.

It's as if every time there is a storm now, we're all expecting to end up on our roofs or in the attic waiting for a rescue chopper. (Don't forget to put an axe in your attic!)

Never mind that what got New Orleans was the failure of the poorly constructed levees and that the city is a bowl under sea level. A good thunderstorm could have done almost the same thing.

The media whips people up into such a frenzy that they all run down to Home Depot for generators and WalMart for all the bottled water they can find. Target sells out of batteries in two hours. Why is this necessary? Why don't people prepare ahead of the season? Plan ahead and get your batteries, flashlights and bottled water a long time before that storm even develops. If nothing ever happens, hey, at least you were ready.

In 1954 E.B. White published an essay entitled "The Eye of Edna" about a hurricane that threatened his Maine home. It's a beautifully written anecdotal piece about how the media whips everyone into a frenzy (and this was well before 24/7 cable coverage!). He says, "I heard about Edna during the morning of Friday, September 10th, some thirty-six hours before Edna arrived, and my reaction was normal. I simply buttoned up the joint and sat down to wait."

They they turned on the radio, where hundreds of miles away the news reports became increasingly frantic. He says, "It became evident to me after a few fast rounds with the radio that the broadcasters had opened up on Edna awfully far in advance, before she had come out of her corner, and were spending themselves at a reckless rate."

What would White think about today's coverage?

Eventually he takes refuge from "the storm" on the radio by going outside where things are quite calm and normal. By the time the storm finally got to his place, it had passed by the broadcasters who had by then gone on to normal programming.

Not to make light of hurricanes. As I said, they're serious and the tornadoes they spawn and the flooding they cause are nothing to scoff at. But how many shots do we need of some reporter getting bandied about in the wind on a beach with pounding surf behind him? How many times in 30 minutes do I need to see the satellite loop? This guy in on television right now is talking about "high wind gusts" and "metal debris," as if we don't know to expect this sort of thing with a hurricane.

All in all, I think 24/7 coverage is too much. Calm, responsible reporting on the hour or half hour is fine. Keep us informed. But don't whip us into a frenzy.

Friday, August 26, 2011

The lawsuit against a Bossier City family over a sign supporting their son serving in Afghanistan has been settled.

Corey Burr deployed to Afghanistan in January. The Burr family put a sign in their yard with his picture and the words "Our son defends our freedom."

Their story drew national attention in July, after the Gardens of Southgate subdivision's Homeowner's Association filed suit against the Burrs, demanding they remove the sign. The Burrs refused.

As part of the settlement reached with the homeowners' association, the Burrs will be allowed to keep their sign up until their son returns home. He is due back in March of 2012. The family says the agreement also allows for a mail-in vote to be held to decide whether to allow military signs throughout the neighborhood. The HoA's by-laws require 90% approval for changing any by-laws.

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. It's been a busy week and I've been bogged down. It's always this way when school starts: my body is still on summer-time and has to take a couple of weeks to adjust. And it takes longer the older I get. I've also been running back and forth to my mom's who is still recovering from her little tumble a couple of weeks ago. We're getting there.

I'm still reading Mark Steyn's After America, but when I realized I was so tired I was reading the same paragraph over and over, I put it down for a few days. I don't want to miss a word so I'll pick it back up this weekend.

I am simultaneously reading Rick Perry'sFed Up. So far, it's entertaining, sensible, and well written. I'm not very far along yet, and I haven't gotten to any of the things people are referring to as "loopy" but so far I like what I hear.

So far this school year is going pretty smoothly; much more so than last year which just seemed like one speed bump after another. I have a couple of new challenges this year but it's been a good sort of challenge rather than the burdensome kind.

Apparently all I'm missing as far as blog-worthy-news is coverage of Hurricane Irene and Obama's vacation and I'd just as soon take a pass on both of those anyway.

Stay high and dry this weekend and be safe if you're in the path of Irene. Buy more beer.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

11:34 (CT): Our national GOP poll, out tomorrow, is better for Perry even than the Iowa one. Double digit lead.11:36: Nationally, if it came down to a 2 person race: Perry 52, Romney 36. Mitt needs to try to wrap it up before it gets to that point.11:40: More evidence Bachmann has maxed out support- down 9 to Romney, 30 to Perry in national heads to heads.

He suggested the program’s creation violated the Constitution. The program was put in place, “at the expense of respect for the Constitution and limited government,” he wrote, comparing the program to a “bad disease” that has continued to spread. Instead of “a retirement system that is no longer set up like an illegal Ponzi scheme,” he wrote, he would prefer a system that “will allow individuals to own and control their own retirement.”

But since jumping into the 2012 GOP nomination race on Saturday, Mr. Perry has tempered his Social Security views. His communications director, Ray Sullivan, said Thursday that he had “never heard” the governor suggest the program was unconstitutional. Not only that, Mr. Sullivan said, but “Fed Up!” is not meant to reflect the governor’s current views on how to fix the program.

That seems lame to me. It doesn't sound like the Perry I've been following. To back off of a position that seemed so definite a few months ago for the purpose of political expediency will certainly come back to haunt Perry, if in fact, that is the case.

It seems as if it would be the ultimate of flip-flops.

I haven't read the book yet so I'm not sure exactly what he said, but my impression of Perry has been that he sticks to his guns (for better or worse).

At any rate, I have some interesting reading on my shelf right now! Now, if I only had time to properly devote to it...

Monday, August 22, 2011

I can't say that this surprises me. I like Paul Ryan but I just didn't see him getting the nomination right now. Plus, he's been very clear in the past about not wanting to run. My position has always been that he's too "wonky" for that battle and that he's happier where he is. So far as I know, he has no executive experience at all, and it's very difficult to get elected from the House.

Yes, yes, I know. Obama had no experience either, but I think this time, as screwed up as things are, voters might be ready for a grownup in the Oval Office. Not that Ryan isn't, but he is, for now, serving us better where he is.

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure Palin is about to get in there. That will make things interesting; I can't wait to see Palin and Perry go head to head on the issues. Heh!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

My mom fell last week and banged herself up pretty good. As is usually the case with things like that, most of the aches and pains didn't show up until later.

All week long she's been wrestling through pain and relying on her CNA to help her to and from the bathroom, fix meals, and other personal needs. Over the past couple of days it's just been too much and she's gotten tired of being miserable. She's been asking to go back to The Glen.

To get into The Glen you have to either get on a waiting list or be discharged from a hospital stay into their facility. It's not easy.

Mom called me today at 9:00 and told me to come as soon as I can because she was afraid to be alone. Me and the CNA showed up about the same time and mom was just miserable. Like, crying miserable. Her arm hurt, her tailbone hurt, and she can't walk without help (including her walker). She asked to go to the hospital.

So this afternoon Steve and I load her up into the car, drive her to Willis Knighton Pierremont, and into the ER. She can't walk so they come out with a wheelchair and get her.

We get the paperwork done fairly quickly and get back into a room. Over the next three hours they do a CAT scan of her head, a urinalysis, and check her blood pressure. The doctor finally comes in after three hours and says there is no medical reason to keep her and they send us home.

Really? An 87 year old woman who weighs 85 pounds, with no feeling in her hands and feet, can't walk, can't roll over without help, in pain, and there is no medical reason to keep her overnight.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Drudge is all afire over the coming rolling blackouts that will likely happen as a result of Obama's pledge to bankrupt the coal fired power plants.

Man, he said out loud what he was going to do and people voted for him anyway. Nobody that voted for Obama has the right to utter one single solitary complaint when their electricity cuts off for several hours. When it's 108 outside and it's your turn for your power shut down, just sit there and chant "Yes, we can...." over and over. Hope 'n change, baby.

Rolling blackouts are a common or even a normal daily event in many developing countries where electricity generation capacity is underfunded or infrastructure is poorly managed. Rolling blackouts in developed countries are rare because demand is accurately forecasted, adequate infrastructure investment is scheduled and networks are well managed; such events are considered an unacceptable failure to plan and can cause significant political damage to responsible governments. In well managed under-capacity systems blackouts are scheduled in advance and advertised to allow people to work around them but in most cases they happen without warning, typically whenever the transmission frequency falls below the 'safe' limit. Due to the shortage of electricity, load shedding is extremely common in India.

The state of Texas is not a bit happy about the impending blackouts (emphasis mine):

The critical importance of electric generation adequacy was brought home as the Texas PUC was finalizing these comments. On August 2 and 3, 2011, temperatures across most of Texas ranged from 105 to 111 degrees. Because of the unseasonably hot weather, the ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) region of Texas set a new peak demand record of 68,294 MW, blowing through the 2010 record of 65,776 MW. Although ERCOT avoided the need for rolling outages because of its current electric reserves, the ERCOT grid operated very close to its capacity. It is clear that, had the EPA rules discussed in these comments been in effect, Texans would have experienced rolling outages and the risk of massive load curtailment. Our modern economy depends upon a reliable source of electricity, and outages, rolling or otherwise, cost Texans millions of dollars.

How are the elderly and infirm supposed to deal with rolling blackouts in 110 degree heat?

Hell, we had a transformer blow up in one of our suburbs recently and the repair time was initially estimated at 12 hours. People began freaking out and demanding the the city open "cooling centers" and that they be allowed to take their pets along.

Ezra Klein links to a report which says this is all much ado about nothing. Yes, he says, many coal power plants will shut down, but hey, they were archaic anyway! No big deal!

Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan is strongly considering a run for president. Ryan, who has been quietly meeting with political strategists to discuss a bid over the past three months, is on vacation in Colorado discussing a prospective run with his family. Ryan’s concerns about the effects of a presidential campaign – and perhaps a presidency – on his family have been his primary focus as he thinks through his political future.

I've been of the mind that Ryan is just so "wonky" about policy that he just really wants to be in the House; I'm under the impression that he thinks he can be more effective right where he is. But I'm not in his inner circle, you know.

As a Presidential candidate, however, Ryan lacks the background that gives confidence in an ability to handle the executive branch. Like the other aspirants from the House already in this race, Ryan lacks any executive experience at all, in either the private or public sector.

If Ryan ever wants to run for president, he should definitely do it now. He’d handle himself well, and there’s no qualification for running for president in Republican politics quite like having run for president before. He’d have a leg up in 2016 if Republicans don’t win in 2012. And one of Obama’s lessons is to run even when it’s “too soon” . . . because you just never know.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Republican Primary voters, taken Monday night, finds Perry with 29% support. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008, earns 18% of the vote, while Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman who won the high-profile Ames Straw Poll in Iowa on Saturday, picks up 13%.

Monday, August 15, 2011

“And he’s saying ‘Oh, I’m going to Washington to make sure that the federal government stays as far away from you as possible –while I ride on Air Force One and that Marine One helicopter and go to Camp David and travel around the world and have a good time.’ I mean, this is crazy.”

He's got a point.

At least Obama is honest and up front about wanting to shove the government down your throat and into every other orifice while every aspect of your life is determined by bureaucrats.

Michelle Goldberg at The Daily Beast is drumming up paranoia about Perry and Bachmann's Christian beliefs:

We have not seen this sort of thing at the highest levels of the Republican Party before. Those of us who wrote about the Christian fundamentalist influence on the Bush administration were alarmed that one of his advisers, Marvin Olasky, was associated with Christian Reconstructionism. It seemed unthinkable, at the time, that an American president was taking advice from even a single person whose ideas were so inimical to democracy. Few of us imagined that someone who actually championed such ideas would have a shot at the White House. It turns out we weren’t paranoid enough. If Bush eroded the separation of church and state, the GOP is now poised to nominate someone who will mount an all-out assault on it. We need to take their beliefs seriously, because they certainly do.

"One of the reasons that I'm running for president is I want to make sure that every young man and woman who puts on the uniform of the United States respects highly the president of the United States."

He got a lot of applause for that line, by the way.

Weinstein whines:

The obvious implication is that America's roughly 3 million active-duty and reserve soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines don't respect President Barack Obama—whose administration drew down their numbers in Iraq and Afghanistan, revamped the Department of Veterans Affairs, increased Pentagon funding, and oversaw the operation that killed Osama bin Laden. Is Perry for real?

He's for real, Mr. Weinstein.

Weinstein claims that 37% of service members polled by Gallup approved of Obama. In Weinstein's world, this is apparently a positive approval rating. It's okay, you see, because at one time George W. Bush "the exact same approval numbers"! Eureka!

Only 42% in the Gallup poll approved for the 18 to 29 age group. By the time you get to the 40 to 49 age group, 37% approved and 51% disapproved. Gallup points out:

Americans who currently serve or previously served in the U.S. military are less likely to approve of the job President Obama is doing than are those who have not served in the military, by about 10 percentage points. This approval gap occurs across age groups.

(It's also worth noting that, despite major gains by women and minorities in recent years, the military is overwhelmingly white, male, and Protestant, a demographic that never polls well for Obama.)

Weinstein's pitiful excuse that Perry is just beating up on Obama is weak:

But Perry's "respect" jibe isn't about the facts: It's about painting a beleaguered president as effeminate and indecisive.

Poor "beleaguered" and "embattled" Obama. It's good that he has the media to take up for him. Maybe he can gain a second wind while hanging out with the millionaires and billlionaires at Martha's Vineyard this month. Nothing like a nice corporate jet, waygu beef, golfing vacation hob nobbing with the wealthy and getting away from the little people to re-energize yourself.

Weinstein suggests Obama campaign on his national security achievements. No, I'm not making that up.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Mom has been at home since her discharge from rehab at The Glen last November. She was in pretty good shape when she left The Glen; they'd rehabbed her little self into pretty sturdy form (That picture, left, was taken the day we brought her home). We'd set her up with some nice Home Health folks who were going to come by every so often and continue rehab exercises, check vitals, etc.

In no time at all mom decided she didn't need those Home Health people; they just showed up whenever they wanted to and didn't do anything anyway, according to her.

She was so difficult to live with that my brother bailed on his attempt to live with her and help take care of her. I can't fault him too much; he tried. She's challenging.

We do have a wonderful girl, a CNA, that comes nearly everyday to help mom with bathing and preparing meals and some light housework. She's been a godsend.

Fast forward to last night. About ten o'clock Steve and I get a call from the LifeAlert people that mom had pushed her "help" button but they weren't getting a response from her. Panic!

Steve and I rush over to mom's (she's about five minutes away). I have on my pajamas and tennis shoes and on the way over I realize we're not going to be able to get in. I have keys, but she has sliding dead bolts and barricades herself in that place after dark.

We pull up in the driveway and mom's bedroom light is still on. This is way past her bedtime so I know something is amiss and she hasn't just pushed the LifeAlert button by accident.

I try to open the front door with my key: it's deadbolted. I look in the front window and don't see anything. Peeking between the slats of the blinds, I don't see her on the floor. We go around to the side door: same thing. But again, I can't see her on the floor. Back door? Forget it. Back around to the front, panic building, we go to the other side of the house and where her window unit is, we are able to slide back the wings that go from the a/c unit to the side of the window frame. I can peek inside her bedroom and see she isn't in the bed, but her walker isn't there either.

This means she's in the bathroom. I can't see in there without a ladder.

We holler, bang on doors and windows, and finally call the police department. They agree to send someone over so we go back on the front porch to wait. I'd have busted a window and just gone in, but there was no good window to do that with. We needed the Fire Dept. to get us in.

While we're waiting, I hear the LifeAlert machine go off again; the guy on the other end is trying to make contact with mom, talking to her, but getting no answer. But this means she's pushed the button again, so it's a good sign.

After what seems like forever, a police car shows up. Two officers walk up and I explain the situation. I told him, "If you can just crowbar this storm door open, we can break that glass and get in this door."

"I can't do that," he says.

I'm like, "What do you mean you can't do that? I have to get in there!" He walks off to the back of the house. About that time Steve says, "THEY can....": the Fire Dept. has arrived.

So I explain the situation again. There are at least four firemen I think. I was pretty panicky by this time. Two more cops have come so now we are ten.

They look over the situation and finally somebody breaks out the crowbar and says, "You sure you want me to do this?" I said, "Do it."

He crowbars the storm door open, busts the window pane in the door, and in they all go. I hung back to be last, not wanting to be the one to find anything awful. Steve was second one in.

They find her, as I predicted, in the bathroom. She has fallen into the (empty) bathtub and can't get out. She's sitting there, indian style, waiting for help.

A couple of the guys get her out (mom weighs maybe 85 pounds) and get her into the living room where she immediately puts in her hearing aids and lights a cigarette. She doesn't seem particularly shocked to see eight uniformed officers in her living room. It's as if they've just come by to say hello at 11:00 on a Saturday night.

So reports are filled out, mom is checked out and nothing is broken. They ask her if she wants to go to the hospital and she said, "Hell no! I don't EVER want to go back there!" They all laugh. I roll my eyes. She's got a goose egg on her head, an abrasion on her arm, and a sprained shoulder. Today she is black and blue on that arm.

After checking everything out, all the police and EMTs leave. Mom insists on a cocktail, smokes at least eight more Pall Malls, and complains about her shoulder. We try again to take her to the ER but she says no way.

Steve and I had a talk with her before we left last night about dead bolting the door where I can't get in to help her and we've now solved that situation. We all suspect she'll have to go back to The Glen soon; she's just too tottery to live alone; and she did love The Glen. I'd love for her to be able to stay in her own home, but she's nearly 87; she's very feeble because she has neuropathy, she doesn't eat well and is a fall risk. It's just dangerous.

I went over today and handled the broken window pane (we didn't tell her about that because she'd have freaked out). She's stiff and sore but okay. Not nearly as bad as last summer when she fell off the porch.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

It's a huge day in the political world today between Rick Perry's announcement and the Iowa straw poll. As of this writing, the votes in Ames are being tabulated and are expected in about an hour or so. Stacy McCain is doing the best live coverage he can in a place where his bandwidth sucks.

There is much debate about the timing of Rick Perry's announcement. Iowans are peeved that he's stealing their day. Huckabee just explained to Brett Baier that Perry's timing is unfortunate in that all the A-list reporters are in Iowa and he is relegated to B-reporters.

I don't think that's going to matter in the end. We've got a long way to go.

The Obama campaign pretends to be unconcerned about Perry. We'll see how much by the level of their attacks in coming days.

Intrade has Perry as the nominee at 33.7% right now, higher than Bachmann or Romney. Wonder what the odds are of a Perry-Rubio ticket?

Friday, August 12, 2011

A large crowd is expected for the funeral tomorrow of Navy SEAL Robert James Reeves at St. Marks Cathedral. Via KTBS:

Streets adjacent to St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Shreveport will be closed to traffic before, during and after Saturday's memorial service for Navy SEAL Robert James Reeves, who was killed in Afghanistan.The memorial service begins at 11 a.m. St. Mark's is located at Fairfield Avenue and Kings Highway and streets around it will be closed from 9:30 a.m. to approximately 1 p.m. to accommodate people going to the cathedral.

Many streets around the church will be closed, and closed early, so if you're going, make plans accordingly.

The PGR has been asked to stand a flag line before and after the memorial service honoring Chief Petty Officer Robert Reeves. The family will honor the wish of Chief Petty Officer Reeves and give him an at-sea burial, so this is the only service currently planned in Shreveport.

The streets around the church will be closed starting at 8:30 AM with only those attending the service allowed inside the blocked off area. Motorcycle parking will be along the street in front of the church on the Fairfield Ave side of the building. A PGR staging area will be located nearby.

The students from Evangel placed 2200 flags along the outside of the cathedral.

At SIGIS, I've been wrestling with this. I'll be in the flag line. I'm not going to muscle into the service because I think people that knew him or his family should have priority. I'll be there to honor him and his service in the flag line.

SIGIS honors the service of all the SEALs in that tragic mission and I ask that wherever you are, you take a moment tomorrow to remember them as we in Shreveport take time to honor Chief Petty Officer Reeves.

The SIGIS fundraiser for Cpl. Breck Scott wraps up Monday. Please watch the video here to see Cpl. Scott, now back at home from Houston, express his thanks for all the donations and prayers he has received. He will be wearing an elaborate brace on his leg for 9 months.

You can still donate to the SIGIS fundraiser for Cpl. Scott through Monday by clicking the "Donate" button in the sidebar.

But I'm exhausted and have to get up early. We went to Hangar 2 on base and Tay made Thai beef salad for us and Pad Thai and it was great! (She's Thai and knows her way around a kitchen.) Now I'm headed to bed with my book.

I'll be back doing a better blogging job in a day or two. Bear with me.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Last call for the fundraiser for Shreveport police Cpl. Breck Scott; our fundraiser here ends Monday. If you haven't yet found a few dollars to send for this worthy cause, please try. The original story is here.

If you live in the Shreveport area, the El Chico restaurant on Greenwood Road is holding a fundraiser on August 12:

A local El Chico restaurant will be holding a benefit for a Shreveport police motorcycle officer who was seriously injured in the line of duty last spring. El Chico Restaurant at 2127 Greenwood Road in Shreveport will donate a portion of their proceeds to Cpl. Breck Scott on Aug. 12. Cpl. Scott, a seven year veteran of the department, was injured April 5 when he was struck by a vehicle while operating his department issued motorcycle.

Breck has suffered extreme complications due to injuries he sustained in the crash and has had multiple surgeries since that time. El Chico Manager Albert Waters remarked, “We want to invite everyone to come out and help us with this fundraiser for Breck and his family. This is a tough time for them and we want to do our part to help them out.”

The benefit will run from 10:30 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. with 10% of the gross sales being donated to Scott.

I want to thank everyone who has donated so far and I want to thank Mike at A Cop's Watch for all he has done in support of Cpl. Scott. I can only imagine how appreciate Cpl. Scott's family is of Mike's personal visits while Cpl. Scott was hospitalized in Houston and of the support of The Blue Knights Texas Chapter VII.

If you'd like to donate to help cover Cpl. Scott's medical bills not covered by insurance please hit the Donate button in my sidebar or if you prefer to make your donation directly to the fund set up for Cpl. Scott, you can make the check out to Breck Scott, put "For Deposit Only" on the back, and reference acct. number 5732676084. The address for Capital One Bank is 333 Travis Street, Shreveport, LA 71101. You can do that anytime, even after the SIGIS fundraiser ends.

Monday, August 8, 2011

And no, I can't join the "we're all at fault" chorus. Absent the threat of willful default, a downgrade would be unjustified and absurd. And history will note that it was House Republicans who issued that threat. There is no plausible scenario under which the U.S. would be unable to service its debt. If political gridlock were to persist, our government would be able to pay bondholders with a combination of tax revenues and funds raised by selling more Treasury bills.

And in the final analysis, as Alan Greenspan noted Sunday on "Meet the Press," the U.S. "can pay any debt it has because we can always print money to do that."

I know this kind of talk is horrifying to Ron Paul and others who believe we should be walking around with our pockets full of doubloons, but most of us find paper money more convenient.

Really, it's just such talk that makes rating agencies look askance at us. Print more money?

And, I've just ordered Mark Steyn's After America through Pundette's shop because she gets a commission like that, you see. You can order your copy right here and then I'll get a commission! Hey, it's not warm fuzzy reading but it's required reading. Both of them.

Meanwhile, Timmy "Turbo Tax" Geithner needs to resign, Rick Perry needs to announce, and Obama needs to go on vacation and get off the television for a while. Then maybe we can break 11,000 again.

Since I'm back at work and can't plunder estate sales and garage sales on Fridays anymore, I'll have to enjoy other people's pickin's. I have a few antique/flea blogs in my blogroll and I'm going to start a Monday roundup of their finds.

Pictured left is my latest find: a carved nativity scene that packs neatly into this little box/barn for storage. It's not that old, I just thought it was cute. It has a "Made in Taiwan" sticker on the back. But, I liked the little carved faces and the clever way it all fits in the box until you're ready for it! Just close the doors, flip the little latch and off they go.

Anyway, some other finds:

I like 52 Flea primarily because the photography is great. She can make the most banal thing seem fascinating! I like the nifty bottles she features in this post.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Team Obama and the media minions seem to be all aboard the Alinsky Train; what else could explain the daily vitriol against the Tea Party during and since the debt ceiling debate. Nearly every day something about the vicious Tea Party and their plan to ruin America has been at the top of Memeorandum.

The more the media lambasts the Tea Party, the more likely the public will be to turn against them, or so the Alinsky model goes.

Axelrod said S&P’s decision was “largely a political analysis.” “And that's what we should focus on because what they were saying is they want to see the political system work. They want to see a sense of compromise. They want to see the kind of solution that the president has been fighting for, a large solution that will deal with the problem, that will be balanced, that will include revenues.”

Instead, said Axelrod, conservative, Tea Party-influenced Republicans “played brinksmanship with the full faith and credit of the United States. And this was the result of that.”

Excuse me, Mr. Axelrod, but what was Obama's plan? Did he have one? No, I didn't think so. Axelrod wants you to think it's the Tea Party's fault we got downgraded rather than Obama's lack of a plan or the over the top spending of the Democrats.

Steve Benen ponders a whole litany of wrongs by Republicans before he finally lights on the debt ceiling debate as "the worst thing the Republicans have ever done":

I still think there’s something unique about the Republicans holding the full faith and credit of the United States hostage, threatening to impose a catastrophe on all of us, on purpose, to achieve a specific (and unnecessary) policy goal.

Again, never mind the fact that Obamacare is about to add millions to Medicaid forcing a rationing situation onto our medical professionals; never mind the explosion of cost and bureaucracy that will result from Obamacare because holding the line for fiscal conservatism is so much worse than that (as lame as that line was).

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean took a stronger tone on CBS, suggesting the tea party has been “smoking some of that tea, not just drinking it” and said of the entire default and downgrade morass, “this is a tea party problem."

And so it goes...it's all aboard the Alinksy Train to attack the Tea Party, to marginalize them, to make them seem anti-American, even. "Why, it's all the Tea Party's fault that your interest rates have gone up!"

All Obama did was talk in generalities about what he might be willing to consider as part of a “grand bargain,” but it always was vague, the equivalent of voting present. But when Republicans put forth actual plans to deal with entitlements (the Ryan plan) and to take dramatic action as to spending (Cut, Cap and Balance) the White House went along with Democratic demagoguing of the issue.

So now it's all the Tea Party's fault.

Do not be led down the dark, smoky path of the Alinsky-ite Obama minions. The Tea Party faction held the line as best they could. Even John McCain has gone from calling the Tea Party "hobbits" to defending their mandate:

“We could have reached an agreement a lot earlier, but the members of the House of Representatives had a mandate last November, and it was jobs and the economy and it was spending. And for them to then agree to tax increases and spending increases was obviously a repudiation of the mandate they felt they had from last November,” McCain said.

It's a thin volume of 114 pages but there is no wasted space; its pages are filled with an easy to understand, common sense look at the state of our country today. Mr. Hall was working on this book in early 2011, before the credit rating downgrade obviously, and he's quite prescient about the financial state in which we now find ourselves. The title of the first chapter is "The Federal Government is Broke. Really."

Other chapters cover other threats to the Republic such as immigration, jihad, terrorism, etc., and the final chapter is filled with good common sense advice about what we need to do to save the country.

Is it a doomsday, world-is-going-to-end book? Not really. It speaks the truth.

I found the book via a comment left by Mr. Hall on this blog; Mr. Hall is also the author of this post and published Op Ed that went viral entitled "I'm Tired." You may have read it; an excerpt:

I’m tired of being told how bad America is by leftwing millionaires like Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood entertainers who live in luxury because of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if they get their way, the United States will have the religious freedom and women’s rights of Saudi Arabia, the economy of Zimbabwe, the freedom of the press of China, the crime and violence of Mexico, the tolerance for Gay people of Iran, and the freedom of speech of Venezuela. Won’t multiculturalism be beautiful?

I’m tired of being told that Islam is a “Religion of Peace,” when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family “honor;” of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren’t “believers;” of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for “adultery;” of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur’an and Shari’a law tells them to.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Chief Petty Officer Robert James Reeves and Lt. Commander Jonas Kelsall were both killed today when a U.S. Chinook helicopter crashed in Wardak province...Reeves and Kelsall were both graduates of Caddo Magnet High School where they played soccer together, according to John Kelsall, Jonas Kelsall’s father. Both would join the military after graduation, though Reeves spent a year at LSU first, his father Jim Reeves, said.

Reeves became a SEAL in 1999, his father said, and served on SEAL Team 6. He was deployed many times in his career and earned four bronze stars among other achievments [sic], his father said.

Kelsall was one of the first members of SEAL Team 7, his father said, and received most of his training in San Diego. He attended the University of Texas right out of Basic Underwater Demolition training where he met his wife Victoria Jennings, John Kelsall said. They were married for three years.

So ends the last week of summer. I'm back to work tomorrow - Open House on Sunday at 2:00. I'm not complaining; the way the economy is tanking, I'm glad I have a job. Of course, everything is going up except my paycheck and I bring home less than I used to but you find ways to cut back.

It's been a good summer. Steve and I have taken several little day trips, I've spent lots of time in Minden with my friend Milly Rose, we acquired some nifty antiques for the house, I've learned a lot about my new glass collecting hobby and have enjoying finding pieces that interest me. My mom has stayed healthy and out of the hospital. Steve retired. I've completed a couple of restoration projects on some antiques. I've read some books. All in all, I can't complain!

Let's round up some links:

Nothing like a little colonoscopy prep to get things going. Camp of the Saints was the lucky man.

Legal Insurrection has a post which reminds me (as if I forgot) how noxious Obama is to me. What a hypocrite he is.

American Power has coverage of the NATO helicopter tragedy in Afghanistan today.

Pundette rounds up some links on the downgrade that came down last night, as does Doug Ross. Wyblog asserts that the destruction of America was Obama's plan all along. At Pirate's Cove, it seems that Matt Yglesias has declared the entire downgrade to be Boehner's fault. Ed Driscoll has a must-read post on the whole thing.

Troglopundit is on Favre Watch. (Speaking of football, I went to a garage sale this morning and the guy was selling two spectacular framed and matted panoramic pictures of Tiger Stadium on a football Saturday night. They were WAY out of my price range but oh they were pretty!)

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I am a Conservative writer and high school English teacher in Shreveport and also work as a free-lance proofreader. I've been published at The American Thinker, The Shreveport Times, The Bossier Press Tribune and had photographs published in Bayou Bucks magazine and other local publications. I like dogs better than most people.